Barcelona will meet with Oriol Romeu‘s agent as they step up their interest in the Girona midfielder, sources have told ESPN.
Romeu, 31, came through Barca’s academy before moving to Chelsea in 2011 and has been singled out as a low-cost option to replace the outgoing Sergio Busquets.
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Real Sociedad‘s Martin Zubimendi and Bayern Munich‘s Joshua Kimmich were coach Xavi Hernandez’s first-choice targets but the Catalan club’s financial situation has forced them to look elsewhere.
“We need to strengthen [at the base] of the midfield but we are in a tricky situation [financially],” Xavi said at the launch of his soccer school on Thursday.
“We don’t have the privilege of being able to sign who we want, so we have to adapt.”
There have already been calls between Barca and Romeu’s camp to sound out a deal and sources have told ESPN the club now want a meeting with his agent to take the negotiations to the next step.
